By the time J.B. Stinnett was 5, he was helping out in his family's small grocery business at Tell, 12 miles southwest of Childress.

J.B. Stinnett can barely remember when he wasn’t working in a grocery store.

By the time he was 5, he was helping out in his family’s small grocery business at Tell, 12 miles southwest of Childress.

“There’s nothing there now except a little part-time post office and a little Baptist church,” he said.

Although he worked in the store while growing up, his father was owner and operator, and made the hard decisions.

He knew most of the ins and outs of helping customers, but his dad tended to the ordering of merchandise and knew what items needed to be stocked.

Then at 19, while he was a student at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, he lost his father to an automobile accident.

“Of course I had grown up in the store, and knew the procedures and things, but my mother hadn’t been active in the business. She was a stay-at-home mom, and I am the oldest of five,” he said.

He dropped out of school and began working full time in the family business to help provide for his siblings.

“I operated it for my mother for several years,” he remembers.

“I would call on the Lord a lot times down there, making decisions.”

Tell was only a small community, and Stinnett eventually took a job at Newsom Paint & Supply in Lubbock.

But the grocery business was what he knew best and wanted to do most.

“That was always my desire — even after I came to Lubbock — to be in business for myself.

“I did that in 1953.”

Stinnett started in business for himself by buying a neighborhood grocery store in the 2700 block of the Clovis Road — U.S. Highway 84.

Within 10 years, he had built a new building at 2841 Clovis Road. He named the business Stinnett Food Market.

“We had a lot of trade from even out to Shallowater, and from the farms,” he recalls of the business.

His wife, Dorothy, remembers that a lot of business came from highway traffic.

“This was the first store they came to in Lubbock, and they would stop in and buy fruit, snacks and things.”

He actively promoted the store.

And when someone with the imposing name of William Joseph Duncan — known in Lubbock only as High Pockets — offered to bring Buddy Holly and a few other musicians to a live broadcast at his store, Stinnett accepted.

“He said, ‘You can pay them something if you want to — whatever you like — for coming out here.”

Stinnett remembers, “High Pockets had him under contract, but he saw Buddy was going to go to a larger audience, and he released him from his contract free of charge.”

Whatever the national ancestry may have been in a changing population, Stinnett kept his customers smiling with light comedy and a running banter. He would joke with them, sometimes greeting them in mock surprise with ‘When did you get out?’”

They would see the twinkle in his eyes and the smile, and know he was making an inclusive joke.

With changing demographics, many people of Mexican descent were coming to his store from the Arnett-Benson area of northwest Lubbock.

Stinnett simply shifted gears and began stocking merchandise that appealed to his new customers.

“We sold corn shucks for tamales. And not little packets of corn shucks like the stores buy now, but we bought corn shucks by the bale. They were good, clean shucks, and we would sack them up. We did a lot of business on them because of the quality.”

Somewhere along the way, Stinnett learned the Spanish word “chango.”

He said it means “monkey” in English. Apparently it was too good to leave alone, and he began using it not only to refer to himself, but judiciously applying it to others as well.

Stinnett remembers its origin this way:

“Mr. (Juan) Ortiz who lived at New Deal was over at Jerry’s Thriftway on Avenue H, selling them some watermelons. He was talking to another guy and said he was fixing to go over to Stinnett’s. And the other guy said, ‘Oh, Chango’s.’

When he heard about it, Stinnett was delighted and knew he was at home with his customers. He began advertising the name on a Hispanic music radio station, and also had business cards made up that read: “Tienda del Chango — store of the monkey.”

He still has some of the cards remaining, and they show an image of a monkey hanging by one arm from a Venture Foods sign.

Stinnett, who is approaching his 90th birthday and has been retired since 2001, has only a few regrets. Among those are the customers he misses.

“I had a good relationship with my customers. That was one of the hard parts about retiring. You miss the interaction with people.”

For a time of reunion, he hopes to get together with those he has known in Lubbock since 1950. His wife is planning a 90th birthday party for him from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday at Red Bud Baptist Church, Eighth Street and Slide Road.

And the gifts he’s looking for are not expensive, but in his opinion extremely valuable: he would like some memories, written on paper, and placed in a basket at the party.

They can be addressed just to J.B., to Stinnett Food Market, or to Chango.

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I lived the first part of my life in the neighborhood served by Stinnett's Grocery. I still remember walking to the store with my brothers to get a treat. Seems like there was a walk up ice cream/soda joint in the parking lot. Wow things have changed.

Used to have a business over in that neighborhood and remember that store well, had a real good mom and pop atmosphere; also brings to mind the original Josie's, when the food was great, operating a drive through out in the parking lot.

I recall this store with very fond memories. JB was good to my parents and my family. My mom worked at the Dairy Burger, which is where Josie's was located later on. I have plans for Sunday and wish that I could make it to his birthday reunion, unfortunatly I cannot change my plans. Even though my parents are not around any more, please give this message to El Chango: Thank you JB, for your kindness and generosity. God bless you and Happy Birthday! The Aguayo Family

I became acquainted with J.B. in 1957 while a student at Texas Tech and worked a few months for him in the grocery store. I also grew up in my Dad's grocery store located in Fieldton, Texas and Stinnett's was the first place I went when I wanted a part time job while in Tech. J.B. made me feel right at home and I will always remember how friendly and kind he was. It seemed that everyone that came into the store knew him personally and he was always joking with them.
Anyway, I'll always have a warm place in my heart and will always be thankful that I knew this good man.
Happy Birthday, J.B

I became acquainted with J.B. in 1957 while a student at Texas Tech and worked a few months for him in the grocery store. I also grew up in my Dad's grocery store located in Fieldton, Texas and Stinnett's was the first place I went when I wanted a part time job while in Tech. J.B. made me feel right at home and I will always remember how friendly and kind he was. It seemed that everyone that came into the store knew him personally and he was always joking with them.
Anyway, I'll always have a warm place in my heart and will always be thankful that I knew this good man.
Happy Birthday, J.B